Chess the newest craze at Bigfork Middle School

Move over basketball, football and volleyball, there is a new activity taking the Bigfork Middle School by storm — chess.

When Sam Tudor started a chess club at the high school several years ago, teacher Derek Ford decided that younger students could also benefit from learning the game and got a club going at the middle school.

“I originally started the chess club to help teach patience and thinking before we react,” Ford said. “It also forces the kids to stand still for a minute and interface with each other, but it has grown into so much more.”